Dairy Operation Transformed with Regenerative Agriculture

When Tim Thompson recently visited Chris Nixon’s dairy farm in East Gippsland, Victoria, Chris shared the transformative practices leading to incredible changes on his farm. By shifting to a soil-based approach and moving away from chemical dependence, Chris has witnessed improved pastures, healthier animals, and better milk quality.

After years of relying on chemicals, Chris noticed his clover content disappearing, grass growth weakening, and an increase in cattle health issues, including lameness and frequent mastitis. His herd was struggling to stay below a cell count of 250,000, the threshold for premium milk quality. To maintain control over these issues, he had to use more chemicals, driving up costs without improved returns. “I complained to my sales rep that he wasn’t putting the juice in the fertilizer anymore cause I’m not getting a bang for dollar,” Chris recalls.

After meeting Peter Norwood from Full Circle Nutrition, who suggested a new approach, Chris committed to trailing regenerative practices for two years. If it didn’t yield results, he planned to return to his old methods. Previously, Chris applied 400–450 kg of urea and 200–250 kg of single superphosphate per hectare each year. The first step in his new approach was to eliminate these inputs, instead using lime, gypsum, silica max, and poultry manure. They also began biannual sprays of fish, kelp, and molasses to nourish the natural biota in the soil.

While the initial costs were unavoidable, Chris is now seeing the financial benefits of these new practices. “This is not a cheap option, and there are lots of things required to get it right. But once you have it right, it’s just about fine tuning the operation”.

With these changes and regular soil testing, Chris achieved his target soil pH of 6.2, ideal for plant growth. One of the most exciting results has been the return of white clover, something the farm hadn’t seen in abundance since Chris’s childhood. This clover now stores between 400–500 kg of natural nitrogen in the soil.

“If it can do it on its own, without me spending a cent, it’s well worth it,” he says.

The shift also led to impressive improvements in milk quality. Cell counts have dropped to an average of 70,000, placing Chris’s farm among the top 5% nationwide. He has also seen a reduction in foot issues, even after a wet winter, and notes the time savings due to fewer health treatments. “We’re not spending an hour after milking treating cows for various health issues. That’s been a really big bonus for us.”

One key to his success has been regular soil testing.

“Test your soils annually,” Chris advises.

Annual testing has allowed him to fine-tune his practices each year, yielding these outstanding results. Concluding his chat with Tim, he notes that the transition isn’t quick or easy, and farmers should prepare for some initial challenges, but the long-term benefits are worth it.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” he says.

His journey has shown him the potential of healthy soils, delivering benefits he couldn’t have imagined five years ago and the success of these regenerative practices on his dairy farm has prompted Chris to start converting his beef operations to the same methods. We’ll be sure to check in with Tim and Chris again to continue following this journey.